Posted on 02/24/2007 5:29:54 AM PST by ShadowDancer
Ground Search For Tara Grant Begins Saturday
POSTED: 1:36 pm EST February 21, 2007
UPDATED: 11:19 pm EST February 23, 2007
MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. -- Investigators said Friday that they will begin a full-out search for Tara Grant on Saturday, who has been missing for two weeks.
Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel said a task force is being formed with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Michigan State Police. Hackel said they are also in contact with authorities in Puerto Rico.
The ground search will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday where search dogs, all-terrain vehicles, air-support units and riders on horseback will comb area metro parks.
The search will start in Stoney Creek Metro Park and branch out from there. Police said they also will search a three-mile area around the Grant home.
The search is expected to last 4 to 6 hours.
"The reason they're looking for her in the park is because they think something horrible happened, and I don't want to think that," Stephen Grant said.
He said he knows the park very well because he rides his bike there, but despite his knowledge of the area, Stephen Grant said he will not be among the searchers.
Stephen Grant told Local 4 by telephone on Friday that he does not want to attend the search because Hackel made comments that Stephen knows about something in the park.
"He's not a supect, but his actions are suspect," Hackel said at a press conference this Friday morning.
Friday afternoon, Grant showed up at the Macomb County Sheriff's Office in Mount Clemens with two laptop computers for authorities to inspect, sheriff's officials said. The Grant's home computer has yet to be turned over to the police, and Hackel said his department has been unable to obtain a search warrant to enter the home.
Local 4 was in Puerto Rico Friday where employees at Tara Grant's office said they were not allowed to talk about the investigation.
Tara Grant was an operations manager at Washington Group International, an engineering and construction management company. The company required her to travel to the Puerto Rico office, Monday through Friday, as part of her job.
The company is cooperating fully with the investigation, Hackel said, and has allowed them to take her computer from that location.
A spokesman for Tara Grant's employer said, "We share the concern of Tara's family and friends over her disappearance and are hoping for her safe return."
Local 4's Karen Drew walked the streets of San Juan near Tara Grant's office, showing her photo and asking people if anyone had seen her.
Drew found out that Tara and Stephen Grant's last trip to San Juan was on Jan. 18, where the couple celebrated Stephen's birthday.
Another new development this week was that Grant's husband, Stephen Grant, told police he heard Tara Grant make an unusual phone call the night of her disappearance.
Stephen Grant said she told whomever she was speaking to on the phone, "I'll meet you at the end of the driveway."
Hackel said there is no indication any phone calls were made that night. Records from her personal cell phone and the house phone do not indicate a call was made during that time.
Early in the investigation, police noticed a scratch on Stephen Grant's nose and hand. Police said they took photographs for their records, but Grant said he got the scratches at work, in his father's tool and dye shop.
Tara Grant's sister, Alicia Standerfer, who lives in Ohio, said Thursday was the most emotional for day her family, when police announced the ground search.
"I know what they're looking for and that end result is something I have been trying to keep out of my mind," she said.
During Wednesday's news conference, investigators introduced a series of e-mails sent from Stephen Grant to his ex-girlfriend.
Hackel confirmed that the woman Stephen Grant was e-mailing was a former girlfriend.
In the e-mails, which were obtained by police and are included in the sidebar to this story, Stephen Grant insinuates that Tara Grant was having an affair with a co-worker, but when questioned by investigators, the co-worker denied allegations and said the relationship was "strictly business."
Standerfer said when she found out about the e-mails, her opinion of her brother-in-law changed.
"It's very difficult to trust someone again when you've been lied to point blank," she said. Standerfer added she is going to try and make it to Detroit when the search begins.
Stephen Grant's attorney David Griem met with the local media on Thursday.
Griem said his client is an emotional wreck over the disappearance of his wife and feels mistreated by the Macomb County Sheriff's Department. Griem said Stephen Grant has been more than cooperative with their investigation.
"He (previously) answered questions for two hours and he agreed to have a lab tech come into his home and look around without a lawyer, because he wanted to do the right thing," Griem said.
Griem added that the sheriff's department is implying his client is the No. 1 suspect. He said the police used neanderthal tactics by arresting him earlier this week for a traffic violation.
"We have a job to do right now and that is to locate Tara," Hackel said. "The concerns he has to protect his client, that's well understood -- he's supposed to do that as his attorney. Our job is to find her, hopefully she's still alive. Right now we're focusing our attention on foul play."
Derricke Dennis Reports On Attorney David Griem's Response
On Wednesday, the Macomb County Sheriff's Department held its first news conference about Tara Grant to offer updated details to members of the media.
During the conference, Hackel explained Stephen's criminal past, including careless driving, failure to obtain a gun permit and having a suspended driver's license five times since 2000.
One of the main details in the case thus far is that Stephen has not taken a polygraph test.
"We hope that everyone would understand that we are going to be extremely aggressive, we're going to ask them the tough questions, and we're hoping we get those answers," Hackel said.
"We want those answers as quickly as possible and not where we have to fax questions over to an attorney's office, wait until they are ready to answer them and then fax them back," he added.
Local 4 learned that Stephen Grant said Hackel named him the No. 1 suspect in Tara Grant's disappearance. When Local 4 reporters asked Hackel about Stephen Grant's statement, Hackel said he was stunned and that Stephen Grant is portraying himself as a victim.
Stephen Grant also said that this is not the first time Tara Grant went missing. According to him, she has disappeared twice before.
Tara Grant's mother, Mary Destrampe, spoke out about her daughter's disappearance in a Local 4 exclusive, saying she misses her daughter and wants her home.
"I feel helpless. I don't know what to do," said Destrampe. "There isn't anything I can do except get the word out. I keep praying every day, all day long that she'll just phone call me and I can hear her voice."
Destrampe said she heard of her daughter's disappearance five days after she had disappeared. Stephen Grant called her to tell her the news. "It felt like he just hit me in the stomach. I was without words."
Destrampe said her daughter would never take off on her own because she is too committed to her career and family.
"Our lives right now is to find Tara. All of our focus right now is to find Tara. Until we do, life is not going to be the same," Destrampe said.
Stay with Local 4 News and ClickOnDetroit.com for the most up-to-date information on this developing story.
"Hackel said his department has been unable to obtain a search warrant to enter the home."
Why???
I have no idea. I would think they could get it based on the emails they pulled from the computer alone.
They got a court order to search phone records but not the house?
I'm guessing that they found something and have a specific search area. They announced two days ago that they would be searching today.
"I'm not sure they even need a court order to see your phone call records."
Well, that's the question. Do they? And if so, why couldn't they get a search warrant, especially with the FBI involved in the case?
If you're following up on this story, I'd appreciate if you ping me. Thanks.
If I remember to (and I swear that will be an issue, LOL) I will make sure to ping you.
Sheriff: Torso of Michigan Woman Found, Husband Main Suspect
Tara Grant DETROIT — Investigators have found what is believed to be the torso of a 34-year-old suburban wife and mother of two who disappeared last month, the Macomb County sheriff said.
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